Off-the-book policing of benevolence

ON an afternoon at the Hosur Town police station, the relatives of a suspect sat in a clean, well-lit waiting hall, unwrapping hotel parcels and sharing food among themselves.

- SIVAGURU S @Krishnagiri

Kids dozed on plastic chairs, elderly women sipped water from the purifier, and a family who had travelled nearly 20 km stretched their legs in relief. A few years ago, the same group would have been standing under the scorching sun or huddling beneath the old tamarind tree outside the station — dusty, tired, and with no access to drinking water. The change was not part of any government scheme.It was the idea of one police officer. Inspector R Nagaraj, currently serving at Hosur Town police station, is the man behind the new waiting hall—a modest but dignified space with seating, drinking water, and toilets. He approached well-wishers, convinced local sponsors, and pulled together ₹8 lakh to build the facility, including a shed and chairs, solely so that people visiting the station would be treated with basic comfort. For Nagaraj, the effort is not new. It has become a personal mark he leaves wherever he is posted, a small but lasting improvement that tells the public someone cared. In every station he has served, something physical changes: a shed rises, a water purifier hums, a toilet is added, and exhausted petitioners finally find a place to s